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Friday, 13 February 2009

Valentine Wishes & Stitches

I just want to drop by quickly to wish you all a lovely Valentine's Day!

I finished stitching for my PS Exchange but, unfortunately, have no other stitching to show yet. However, that doesn't stop me showing off other people's lovely things! Paulette, of Plum Street Samplers, has come out with some lovely new designs. Here's one appropriate for tomorrow -

Love Notesby Plum Street Samplers

It's so pretty! Paulette has also posted a wonderful Valentine freebie today. I am looking forward to stitching more of her designs this year.

Tomorrow I will be picking up a couple of pieces from the framers so can have something to 'show' on Sunday, hopefully. And if I'm a very good girl, Cupid might be winging in a new camera. I hope so!

I do have a question I've been meaning to ask for advice on - how do you get the creases out of your linen? If that sounds like a no-brainer question - then you know the magic answer and I would love to know what it is! I keep pressing/ironing the piece but it seems some creases are very stubborn! I am also careful with the hand-dyed linen as to not use steam (right?) Anyway, I would love to hear any tips and tricks on getting those creases out.

Spring is coming! Despite a dusting of snow earlier this week (or was that last week?) I can see little shoots coming up in the garden. My Hellebore (Christmas Rose) is blooming happily.

Have a great weekend and Valentine's Day. I plan to eat chocolates, indulge in a glass or two of bubbly, and hopefully get in some time to stitch! Thank you for stopping by!

21 comments:

oh you lucky girl..spring coming your way! we have had freezing rain and cold winds over here.You guys always get the best weather in Canada,don't you think? lolNow for my linen I spray it damp and then I iron on using steam setting.I always seem to get the wrinkles out that way.But I haven't tried it on hand dyed linen because I have used any yet :Cta-ra! hope you have a good weekend

Also, good question about the creases in linen. I have the same problem from time to time, depending on the type of linen - some behave better than others. Grrrr! Unfortunately, I don't have the magic answer, but I'll be waiting to see what others say. :D

And I think I am going to have to put the Stacy Nash pieces on my wish list too, they are beautiful.I have Family Sampler on the go too Melissa, I just might have to go back to it once Glad Tidings is finished.

These are very tempting designs. I have the same problems with creases. Sometimes I iron and iron and it all looks good and then a few hours later the creases are back. I will be keeping an eye on this post and see if anyone has any good ideas.

I wouldn't worry too much about using steam with most hand-dyed linens (e.g. Lakeside, Picture This Plus, Countrystitch, Sassy's, Silkweaver etc) if you're ironing before you start stitching. If it's R&R linen, then I would be very cautious about using steam, particularly with dark colours. This is what I have read on a BB about removing wrinkles from linen:

"Wash the linen/piece in orvus or non-dyed dish detegent such as Ivory liquid. Rinse thoroughly and roll piece in a terry towel to remove excess water. Roll into a dry towel and place in the freezer until completely frozen (overnight is great!). Take piece out of freezer and lay on another towel on the ironing surface. Press. The water is now ice crystals and as the iron hits the fabric the ice crystals are instantly vaporized and the piece is wrinkle free"

I've not tried this myself, but some people swear by it! HTH.

Paulette's new freebie is gorgeous - I printed it out last night and can't wait to start it!

Great question ~ and I loved reading KarenV's answer! Personally I have always sprayed with water before pressing. But anything I take to be professionally framed, I was told not to iron as all the wrinkles will be pulled free during stretching.

For the wrinkles, hmmm... I stitch in hand and so everything looks mangled when it's finished. I iron with a hot iron on the back side of the fabric. I usually only have stubborn creases with R&R fabrics. Thankfully, thus far they've disappeared when the framer stretches them before framing. Sorry that's not much help!

I'm looking forward to seeing your framed pieces. I am not sure on the wrinkled linen question either. I have a hard time with wrinkles. The answer about freezing it is interesting. I may have to try that sometime. I love Plum Street Sampler designs as well, and that freebie is so cute! I will have to print that one out over the weekend and add it to the pile. :) Hope you have enjoyed Valentine's Day.

It was good to read everyone's thoughts on pressing out creases. I forgot about R&R hand dyed linens not being color fast and used steam to try to press out creases. Now I have a blotchy piece of linen. It doesn't look too bad on one side, but on the side I ironed, there are large lighter colored spots. I have a picture of it on my blog.

I then decided that maybe those creases were supposed to be there (there are a lot) and be part of the vintage look. Next time I'll know better.

Some linen looks like it's been folded forever and the creases are there to stay!

Oh, how I love Plum Street Sampler's designs. But before I buy new charts I'll have to stitch I have by them. This Valentine design is a real beauty and on my wish list ... for further thinking about, lol.